We're pretty much packed, and just have to clean up the house a bit. OK, a lot.
Anyway, our flight takes off at 15:30 Japan time, or about 14 hours from now. For tracking information just head over to NWA.com and search for flight 6, or just click here.
See everyone soon.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Friday, July 20, 2007
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
"Greg-sensei, please fart."
Everything you are about to read is true.
We have a kid in the first grade who can be kind of a screw-up from time to time. Nice kid, but he prefers getting up and walking around the classroom (during class) to actually doing his work. When pressed, he tends to get angry and crumple his assignments up, or roll on the ground screaming, "No, I don't wanna!"
Anyway, this morning he was walking around the room during science and he attatched himself to the teachers legs. He just sat down and bear-hugged her knees, preventing her from moving. I intervened and physically pried him loose (you can do that in Japan), and the kid started using me as a jungle gym.
While climbing my leg, the young man got himself into a position where he was facing my ass. The teacher said (across the room), "Gureggu-sensei, onara shite kudasai." Yes, it actually was a request to fart on the kid's face.
I love Japan.
We have a kid in the first grade who can be kind of a screw-up from time to time. Nice kid, but he prefers getting up and walking around the classroom (during class) to actually doing his work. When pressed, he tends to get angry and crumple his assignments up, or roll on the ground screaming, "No, I don't wanna!"
Anyway, this morning he was walking around the room during science and he attatched himself to the teachers legs. He just sat down and bear-hugged her knees, preventing her from moving. I intervened and physically pried him loose (you can do that in Japan), and the kid started using me as a jungle gym.
While climbing my leg, the young man got himself into a position where he was facing my ass. The teacher said (across the room), "Gureggu-sensei, onara shite kudasai." Yes, it actually was a request to fart on the kid's face.
I love Japan.
Monday, July 16, 2007
housekeeping
My wonderful father went through the unpleasantness of calling UAL for me and redeeming my ticket voucher. I now have a flight from Portland to Philly. The numbers and times are in the column to the right.
Also, the vacation calendar was starting to get pushed down a bit. I'll try to add it to the side panel. For the time being, the link is here. Outside of the Suzukis visit, Jasons wedding, my trip back east, and camping, little is set in stone. Please make comments if you'd like to see changes.
Also, the vacation calendar was starting to get pushed down a bit. I'll try to add it to the side panel. For the time being, the link is here. Outside of the Suzukis visit, Jasons wedding, my trip back east, and camping, little is set in stone. Please make comments if you'd like to see changes.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
China, the epilogue
This should just about do it for the trip that now ended nearly a month ago (wow, that makes me feel lazy). Soon, I can write about all the things we've done since then, including a hike up Mt. Tsukuba and our annual 4th of July BBQ, which this year took place yesterday (on the 7th, I know).
Anyway, after the Great Wall, Jingsong drove us all back to Beijing.
Sam and I nodded off a bit, since the last three days had been so thoroughly exhausting.
When we got a little closer to the city, Jingsong took a slight detour, taking the 6th Ring Road out to the spot where his new house was being finished.
Jingsong seemed justifiably quite proud of his soon-to-be residence (he should be living there by now, actually). He paid for the house about two years ago at the equivalent of $250,000 or so (Might sound like a lot for China, but it's in Beijing. How much does a single-family dwelling go for in LA?), and then last year, the municipal government outlawed any further building of single-family units, in favor of denser condominiums and apartments. This increased the value of Jingsongs property to somewhere in the $700,000 range, before he had even moved in. As my dad said, "Jingsong's not stupid."
Sam and I got the grand tour, and the house seriously wouldn't be out of place in an upscale development anywhere on the west coast of the States. It's actually part of a larger subdivision, intentionally modelled after those in California. The name of the place actually referenced the Napa Valley specifically, but I forget exactly what it was. Anyway, aside from the houses there were ameneties like a cafe, grocery store, preschool, gym, pool, conference hall, and private pond.
After visiting the house, we went to a nice restaraunt nearby. Again, Jingsong ordered enough food to feed ten people, and again, Sam and I did our best to eat it all. A dish I found particularly tasty was strips of beef that appeared to have been breaded and seasoned with pepper, then lightly fried and covered in a black bean sauce. Very tasty. And the whole meal, with drinks, came to something like 200 yuan. Head over to XE.com and check to see how much that's worth.
After dinner, Jingsong took us back to our hotel. Along the way, we spotted the new stadium being built for the 2008 Games.
Sorry for the quality, but I snapped this from a moving vehicle on the highway. It's nickname is "the bird's nest stadium."
Anyway, as this was our last night in town, Jingsong offered to take us out to a bar district near the center city. We naturally accepted. The district where we went was just inside the 2nd Ring Road, in an area formerly occupied by lower-level princes and court officials, and later on by party functionaries. It surrounds one of the only lakes inside the city limits, which certainly explains the appeal for the old wealthy men who made it home, and the people who get drunk there now.
There were boats that groups could hire to take them out for a drunken cruise on the lake.
The lakeshore was crowded with bars, all of which had set couches and tables (and in some cases, hukkas) out into the street. Traffic was a nightmare. Luckily we took a cab.
Tsing-tao (pronounced more like "ching-dao") is one of the tastier local beers available. And cheap, at around 2 RMB per pint in the store (though drinks cost considerably more in this area).
The view from our table, where Sam and I enjoyed a couple gin and tonics, and snacked on tasty Chinese bar food with Jingsong.
This finally concludes my account of our trip to Beijing. Jingsong was truly an amazing host. With any luck, my father will be spending a year or so in Beijing with him in the near future, so we'll all get to go back.
Anyway, after the Great Wall, Jingsong drove us all back to Beijing.
Sam and I nodded off a bit, since the last three days had been so thoroughly exhausting.When we got a little closer to the city, Jingsong took a slight detour, taking the 6th Ring Road out to the spot where his new house was being finished.
Jingsong seemed justifiably quite proud of his soon-to-be residence (he should be living there by now, actually). He paid for the house about two years ago at the equivalent of $250,000 or so (Might sound like a lot for China, but it's in Beijing. How much does a single-family dwelling go for in LA?), and then last year, the municipal government outlawed any further building of single-family units, in favor of denser condominiums and apartments. This increased the value of Jingsongs property to somewhere in the $700,000 range, before he had even moved in. As my dad said, "Jingsong's not stupid."Sam and I got the grand tour, and the house seriously wouldn't be out of place in an upscale development anywhere on the west coast of the States. It's actually part of a larger subdivision, intentionally modelled after those in California. The name of the place actually referenced the Napa Valley specifically, but I forget exactly what it was. Anyway, aside from the houses there were ameneties like a cafe, grocery store, preschool, gym, pool, conference hall, and private pond.
After visiting the house, we went to a nice restaraunt nearby. Again, Jingsong ordered enough food to feed ten people, and again, Sam and I did our best to eat it all. A dish I found particularly tasty was strips of beef that appeared to have been breaded and seasoned with pepper, then lightly fried and covered in a black bean sauce. Very tasty. And the whole meal, with drinks, came to something like 200 yuan. Head over to XE.com and check to see how much that's worth.
After dinner, Jingsong took us back to our hotel. Along the way, we spotted the new stadium being built for the 2008 Games.
Sorry for the quality, but I snapped this from a moving vehicle on the highway. It's nickname is "the bird's nest stadium."Anyway, as this was our last night in town, Jingsong offered to take us out to a bar district near the center city. We naturally accepted. The district where we went was just inside the 2nd Ring Road, in an area formerly occupied by lower-level princes and court officials, and later on by party functionaries. It surrounds one of the only lakes inside the city limits, which certainly explains the appeal for the old wealthy men who made it home, and the people who get drunk there now.
There were boats that groups could hire to take them out for a drunken cruise on the lake.
The lakeshore was crowded with bars, all of which had set couches and tables (and in some cases, hukkas) out into the street. Traffic was a nightmare. Luckily we took a cab.
Tsing-tao (pronounced more like "ching-dao") is one of the tastier local beers available. And cheap, at around 2 RMB per pint in the store (though drinks cost considerably more in this area).
The view from our table, where Sam and I enjoyed a couple gin and tonics, and snacked on tasty Chinese bar food with Jingsong.This finally concludes my account of our trip to Beijing. Jingsong was truly an amazing host. With any luck, my father will be spending a year or so in Beijing with him in the near future, so we'll all get to go back.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Monday, July 02, 2007
The Great Wall
I realized just how long I've let this slide this morning when my parents called and my phone cheerfully told me that it was July 1st. This will hopefully be my second-to-last post on our Beijing trip, which was now nearly a month ago.
After our lovely, but long day at the Summer Palace, Jingsong treated us to dinner at a nice restaraunt across the street from his apartment building. He apparently goes there regularly enough to be friendly with management. While waiting for Jingsong, Johnnson told us that the restaraunt specialized in cuisine from Jingsong's native province, the name of which I have now forgotten. Anyway, we all enjoyed a nice long meal and several rounds of Tsing Tao (it actually sounds more like "ching-dao") before Jingsong went home and Johnsson took a cab to his place. We were told to get plenty of sleep so we wouldn't be sore for our trip to Badaling.
Jingsong and, to our pleasant surprise Johnnson, met us outside the hotel at 9am and we got right in Jingsong's car for the drive. We drove out to the 4th Ring Road and then took the appropriately named Badaling Expressway the rest of the way up. About 20 minutes before our arrival the air pollution cleared enough for us to make out the ridges ahead, and then before we knew it, we were parked and walking towards the wall.
Yes, there is a Starbucks right below the wall. It's seriously less than 100 feet from the structure itself.
The hills, in all their glory. Note the sign across the valley reminding everyone of next years Olympic games.
One of the many impressive things about the wall is how steep many sections are. Jingsong told us how several years ago, he had seen a Chinese soldier sprinting up the entire length of the wall (at least the section open to the public). Sam and I couldn't quite manage that.
Fortress-like structures dot the wall at irregular intervals. Here's Johnnson inside one of them.
This was right near the upper terminal of the tramway. Yes, there are trams at the Great Wall. We can't expect overweight western tourists to climb these things all by themselves, can we? Anyway, with the tram station nearby the crush of people increased, as did the vendors, as you can see in the background.
Beyond the tram terminal, the crowds thinned. This was probably the most enjoyable section of the wall for us. The structure there towards the back is a good example of the fortresses I talked about earlier.
There is only a short section (well, short compared to the entire 6,000km+ length) of the wall open to the public at Badaling. Here it where it ends. Entrepreneuring salsemen have made good use of the sign ordering everyone to stop. This is also where Sam and I made our international phone calls from.
Beyond the barriers, you can see what some people refer to as "the natural wall." The existing restored section was completed in 1957, and there are ongoing efforts to expand the restored area open to the public, hence the construction evident in the photo.
The steep sections meant shortness of breath on the way up, but they were actually much more tricky on the way down. Note the young lady trying to negotiate the descent in sandals. We were smarter than that, fortunately.
And that about does it for the Great Wall. After we made it back down to the old Ming army base camp that serves as the entrance, we treated ourselves to glasses of cold tea, and hopped back in Jingsong's car for the ride to Beijing. We made a few more stops though, which I'll write about next time, since it's after 1am and I have to work in the morning.
After our lovely, but long day at the Summer Palace, Jingsong treated us to dinner at a nice restaraunt across the street from his apartment building. He apparently goes there regularly enough to be friendly with management. While waiting for Jingsong, Johnnson told us that the restaraunt specialized in cuisine from Jingsong's native province, the name of which I have now forgotten. Anyway, we all enjoyed a nice long meal and several rounds of Tsing Tao (it actually sounds more like "ching-dao") before Jingsong went home and Johnsson took a cab to his place. We were told to get plenty of sleep so we wouldn't be sore for our trip to Badaling.
Jingsong and, to our pleasant surprise Johnnson, met us outside the hotel at 9am and we got right in Jingsong's car for the drive. We drove out to the 4th Ring Road and then took the appropriately named Badaling Expressway the rest of the way up. About 20 minutes before our arrival the air pollution cleared enough for us to make out the ridges ahead, and then before we knew it, we were parked and walking towards the wall.
Yes, there is a Starbucks right below the wall. It's seriously less than 100 feet from the structure itself.
The hills, in all their glory. Note the sign across the valley reminding everyone of next years Olympic games.
One of the many impressive things about the wall is how steep many sections are. Jingsong told us how several years ago, he had seen a Chinese soldier sprinting up the entire length of the wall (at least the section open to the public). Sam and I couldn't quite manage that.
Fortress-like structures dot the wall at irregular intervals. Here's Johnnson inside one of them.
This was right near the upper terminal of the tramway. Yes, there are trams at the Great Wall. We can't expect overweight western tourists to climb these things all by themselves, can we? Anyway, with the tram station nearby the crush of people increased, as did the vendors, as you can see in the background.
Beyond the tram terminal, the crowds thinned. This was probably the most enjoyable section of the wall for us. The structure there towards the back is a good example of the fortresses I talked about earlier.
There is only a short section (well, short compared to the entire 6,000km+ length) of the wall open to the public at Badaling. Here it where it ends. Entrepreneuring salsemen have made good use of the sign ordering everyone to stop. This is also where Sam and I made our international phone calls from.
Beyond the barriers, you can see what some people refer to as "the natural wall." The existing restored section was completed in 1957, and there are ongoing efforts to expand the restored area open to the public, hence the construction evident in the photo.
The steep sections meant shortness of breath on the way up, but they were actually much more tricky on the way down. Note the young lady trying to negotiate the descent in sandals. We were smarter than that, fortunately.And that about does it for the Great Wall. After we made it back down to the old Ming army base camp that serves as the entrance, we treated ourselves to glasses of cold tea, and hopped back in Jingsong's car for the ride to Beijing. We made a few more stops though, which I'll write about next time, since it's after 1am and I have to work in the morning.
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